UN human rights chief condemns US gun laws
The top United Nations human rights official has warned US authorities about the country’s “insufficient gun control,” urging American leaders “to live up to its obligations to protect its citizens.”
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein called on US authorities on Tuesday to adopt “robust gun control measures” following the latest mass shooting in Orlando, Florida.
“It is hard to find a rational justification that explains the ease with which people can buy firearms, including assault rifles, in spite of prior criminal backgrounds, drug use, histories of domestic violence and mental illness, or direct contact with extremists – both domestic and foreign,” Hussein said in a statement.
He also criticized the “irresponsible pro-gun propaganda” in the US, which claims guns make society safer “when all evidence points to the contrary.”
The top UN human rights official pointed to examples of how control of firearms in many countries has led to a “dramatic reduction in violent crime,” citing a UN report on firearms in April.
On Sunday, a gunman armed with an assault rifle killed 49 people and injured 53 others at a crowded nightclub in Orlando before he was killed by police. It was the worst mass shooting in US history.
The suspect, identified as 29-year-old Omar Mateen, was an American-born US citizen born to parents of Afghan background. He was allegedly a Daesh sympathizer.
The Daesh terrorist group has claimed responsibility for the Orlando shooting.
Investigators have not officially linked Mateen to Daesh and cautioned that the mass killing may have been inspired by the group.
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